With Visa’s new crypto card, users can exchange digital assets hosted on over 40 blockchain networks into USDC, then withdraw funds to bank accounts or use them to pay for goods and services.
Singapore-based FinTech company SafePal announced a strategic investment in Swiss bank Fiat24. This partnership allowed the companies to launch a banking gateway for Visa’s virtual cryptocurrency card. Once a bank account is created, user credentials are stored on the Arbitrum blockchain network as an NFT.
The default deposit currency is USDC, which can be converted into digital assets hosted on more than 40 blockchain networks thanks to integration with SafePal’s non-custodial crypto wallet. Using a banking gateway, stablecoins can be converted into fiat currencies such as U.S. dollars, euros, or Swiss francs. The new crypto card allows you to withdraw digital assets to bank accounts or use them to pay for goods and services, including in payment systems like PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and others supporting Visa.
The banking gateway and the crypto card will first be deployed in select regions of Europe and then expanded to the entire continent and other regions, except for the U.S. and countries under U.S. sanctions. The list of supported countries will be continuously updated. In addition, SafePal and Fiat24 plan to issue a similar crypto card on the Mastercard network in Q3 2024.
Various FinTech companies and banks practiced issuing crypto bank cards in different regions of the world for several years. For example, in 2023, Uzbekistan’s commercial banks received the regulator’s permission to issue cryptocurrency cards on the Mastercard network. In addition, crypto wallet developer Stables and Mastercard issued a prepaid crypto card for users from Australia. A year earlier, Mastercard signed an agreement with the BitOasis platform, based on which the crypto card was released to residents of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
